Mold for building-blocks.



ANo. 760,678. y PATENTE'D MAY 241,219.04.

` L. 0.- BURNHAM.- MOLD. FOR BUILDING BLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3J, 1903.

NQVMODEL, v I 2 SHEETS-SHEET immiiumrz.

No MODEL.

i L. oQ BURNHAM. MOLD 'PQR BUILDING BLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILD O QT. 31, 1903.)

- 'PATENTED MAYM, 1904.

-2 SHEETs---fsmrefxzzr 2Q 1 'l UNITED STAT-Es l LoRoN o.v BURNHAM, 'on FRANK FolinI xIIcIII'eAN; f

Patented May 24, 1904.1;

'PATENT OFFICE.

'MOLD FOR BulLDlNG-BLOGKS.- I

SPECIFICATION forming part' 'o'f Letters Patent Np.' 76o,678,'d ate1 May 24,' 1904.` Y ",Appnatn flied oao'brei, 1903.. seating. 179,317. (remodel.)

T0 ctZZ whom/ it Iii/tty concern: l

, .Beit known that I, LoRoNO. BURNHAM, al

l citizen of the United States, residing at Frankfort, in the county of Benzie and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Imy provements in Molds for Building-Blocks; and l I dohereby declare that the following is a full, i

clear, and exact, description of the invention, I l

such as --Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains .to lmakeand use the same.

invention relates to molds for manufacturing buildingblocks'fro'm plastic mate-I rial; and it consistslof certain novel features -of combination and construction `of parts, as!

will jbe hereinafter clearly set forth, and point-l edout in the claim.

. The prime object of my invention, among;V `others,l is ,to provide a mold of` the character;v specified by means of whiclrbuilding-'blocks of various shapes and sizes ymay be formed to y .meet all of the conditions in erecting abuilding or culvert orl bridge and similar work:` `whereby the building-block will be foundj yready to accommodate itself to various yposi-l .tionswhere it may beplaced. l' l y Other .objects and advantages will be here-Q `v inafter made clearlyapparent, referencebeshows a perspective View ofmy tral section of Fig.l l'on line 2 2. Figr3 is a;

transverselsection of Fig. 1 online 3 3. ,'Fig.

4 is a perspective view `showing'a slight addition tothe mold'as illustrated in Fig. l. Fig. 1

5 is asimilar viewto that presented in Fig. i

-ployed in connection therewith.' Figs. `6, 7, .8, 9, and 10 show various sizes and shapes of l, showing additional attachmentsto beernvbuildingv-blocksA as may be produced from my i mold. Fig. 1,1V is a perspective view showing;` y .one end of my mold andk indicating the posi?A .tion of certain corner-pieces by dotted lines', i

yandFig v12-shows a formv of blocksproducedl by the moldandthe attachments' illustrated- The]variousdetails of myinvention andl coperating accessories will for convenience be referred to by numerals, the 'same numeralv thedrawings, l and 2 indicate side sections ofv my improved mold, while 3 and 4 show the e end sections thereof, and 5 designatesa framesection to which said side and ,end sections are pivotally secured, as by suitablehinges It will be observed VAby reference toFigs., l and 3 that the inner face of the'side wall 2.is properly formed, so as to produce a block yof theA pattern styled .rockfaced,. this being readily accomplished by hollowing lout and roughening the inner surface of theside wall 2, as indicated by the numeral 7 is Fig. 3 and, other'views -a l Io each end section3 and 4 I attachl or, integrally form -therewith theyerticallyjf disposed rib-l-ike member' 8, one for each end section, saidrib being disposed in the middle portion ofthe mold and is designed to form in the Vend of the building-block an -opening applying to asimilar part throughout thesevl i eral views, and, referring to the numeralson or recess whereby when two buildingfblocks is 'desirable-in-thisvariety of construction;

Therib-sections 8 are shown to be integrally formed' withf the end sections 3 and 4 in Fig. 2; It is' also desirable that the,central por- 'ti'onxof each'building-block shallfbe provided,-l f with an opening extending entirely through "the same, as indicated by the numeral 9,- Where- 'by when the building-blocks aresplacedtone above the other, as in building-acontimrous communicating chamber is formed-tw:stag-4 gering the position of the openingsf-QFwiththe end recesses formed in the enduofeach block by means of the end sections 8,: as hereinbefore stated, said end recesses'being .indicated by IOO which is located in the central part of the moldlbox and consists of the side walls 12, which are carried by the floor-section 13, said walls being of sufficient extent to reach upward to the top of the frame-section 5, wherey when the plastic material is placed in the mold-box and pressed down therein the up- `pe`r surface of such material will be left flush with the frame-section 5 and the upper edges of the walls l2, thereby forminga hollow opening entirelythrough the block thus formed. I also provide the lid-section 14, adapted to be easily taken out of its position between the walls 12, the object of said lid being to prevent the material from falling between said walls.

vI also provide for cooperation with the walls 12 the end sections 15, which are pivotally mounted upon the rods 16, extending transversely acrosssfrom one wall 12 to the other. Each of the end sections is provided at its lower end with a lug or extension 17, which is provided upon its outer end with a beveled extension or terminal 18, and as said extension 17 is adapted to reach down th-rough a recess 19 in the bottom section 18 it will be understood that the lower ends of the end members 15 will be heldin a vertical position. In order that the entire box thus or otherwise constructed and comprising the side walls 12 and end sections 15 may. be bodily removed or lifted from out the mold-box, I provide suitable locking mechanism for holding the end walls 15 in a vertical position, whereby the extensions 18 will be brought against the beveled ends of the recesses 19, said locking device consisting in this instance of the arms 20, hinged together at their inner ends, as indicated by the numeral 21, and pivotally connected at their outer ends to the ears 22,carried by each end section 15. It therefore follows that by raising the hinged joint 21 upward the lower ends of the end sections 15 will be drawn toward each other sufficiently to disengage the extension 17 from the recesses 19,y and thereby permit the core to be easily moved downward, and thereby leave the opening formed by the walls 12 and said end sections free and unobstructed.

`In some instances eachv end section 15 may `be provided upon its outer side with a transverse rib 23 in order that a more desirable Vbuilding-block may be produced.l

In Fig. 4 I have shown the addition of a block 24, located alongside of the rib-section 8,

lit around one of the obliquely-disposed rafters supporting the roof, I then employ a triangular block 26, the result being that that form of block, as indicated in Figs. 9 and 10, will be produced, the position of the triangular block and the size or extent thereof determining a corresponding shape for the block formed.

It becomes desirable that a convenient and easily-operated means shall be provided for locking the lower or free edges of the side and end walls in operative union with each other, and I therefore provide for each of the side walls a spring-like hook 27, having its hook face or side turned inward to engage the contiguous edge of the end walls, and in order to hold the end and side walls against all relative movement I also provide the locking-bail 28, having upon each end an angular extension 29, shaped to engage a contiguous part of the ends of the side walls, one of said extensions being bent outward to provide the controlling-handle 30, or both of said extensions may be provided with such a handle, if desired. It therefore follows that by swinging the handle outward the members 29 will be brought out of engagement with the sidewalls, thereby permitting the side and end walls to be moved freely outward. at their lower edges, whereby the moldbox may be lifted olf of the bottom section, leaving the lnolded block formed within the moldbox resting upon the bottom section ready to be carried away for storage after it has become set.

It will thus be seen that I have provided reliably-efficient means which while simple in character will produce a building-block of almost any desired shape and will forni the sides of the building-block with rock-faces, or both sides and each end may also be so configurated or shaped, if preferred. It will be furthermore obvious that the building-block may be properly shaped to accommodate itself when placed in the wall to lit around a contig- Auous joist or sleeper or a rafter supporting the roof, and while I have described the preferred construction deemed necessary in earrying out my invention I wish to comprehend in this application all substantial equivalents and substitutes.

Having thus fully described the construction of my invention, it is thought that the use or operation thereof will he made clearly apparent, though it may be stated that after the mold-box has been formed and the parts thereof assembled substantially in the manner Shown in Fig. l the plastic material is placed therein and properly tamped or pressed downward and afterward brought iiush with the upper surface of the frame-section 5, and after the plastic material shall have becolne suiiiciently hardened the lid or closure-section 14 may be removed and the hinged joint 21 drawn upward, as by the lingers of the operator, which IOO IIO

- upon one side than upon the other, as-set forthv will incidentally draw the lower rendsof the end sections 15 into a position to disengage the extensions'l? from the recesses 19, therebypermitting the central core comprising the Walls 12 in said end sections 15 to vbe bodily lifted from the opening which it has formed in the building-block, it being understood that the lower ends of the end sections 15shall` be .narrower than the upper ends thereof, thereby insuring that the central opening in the build= ing-block will be slightly conical in shape and enabling thek central core-,box to be more easily removed than if the Wall-sections 12 lWere truly Vertical or parallel Vwith each If it should be desirable to form one edge of the vbuilding-block so that it Will be of less extent than the opposite corner, yso as to it around a joist or the like, then I place the block24 in the position shown in Fig. 4 and the operation repeated, the result being that the block when produced Will be of less size in Fig. 12.

Believing that the advantages and construction and manner of using my improved coreboX for building-blockshave thus been made clearly apparent, further description is deemed unnecessary.

`VVhatI claim as new, and desire to secure yby Letters Patent, is-

"ativelyconnect said parts together whereby they may be freely removed from the plastic core formed around the same; removable de- .vices as indicated bythe numerals 24 and 26 adapted to shape the corners of the building block as desired and additional means to lock the free y'edges of the end and side walls in cooperative relationship, all combined substantially as speciied and for the purpose set forth.

- In testimony Whereofsl aiiiX my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

LORONYO. BURNHAM.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR MITCHELL, f J. N. WILLIAMS. 

